1971-72 season scrapbook

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Crewton said:

Re : the first Cup Tie v Arsenal at the BBG - I was stood about 2/3rds of the way down the Popside when Charlie George came running over to the fans right in front of me, flicking the Vees, after scoring Arsenal's 2nd. I must have a bit of 6th sense because my reaction was to duck down, not lurch forward with the rest of the crowd. Smart move because moments later, a shower of snot, like a scene from a Derk & Clive version of Agincourt, came raining down from the crowd behind us, splattering not only Charlie and his team mates but most of the fans around me as, inevitably, many 'arrows' fell short of their mark. Not a speck on me, but Charlie looked like the Jolly Green Giant!

This is what Charlie himself had to say about the incident in his autobiography. It is in a chapter where he was explaining his differences with the manager, Bertie Mee, which was ultimately the reason for him leaving his beloved Arsenal to join the Rams in 1975. Charlie clearly felt that there was a big generation gap between him and Mee, whose playing career hit the heights as a Derby County reserve player when he lived in Etwall. Charlie believed that Mee looked down on him and lacked a real understanding of football and he did not share Charlie's passion for the game. He said:

'At Derby one time I infamously gave the V-sign, which was just me. I couldn't resist it, though I didn't always get caught. This time I did, spectacularly. The crowd were giving me stick every time I touched the ball by singing "Charlie, where's your handbag?" - that sort of banter. To be honest it never bothered me; some things did, but not that. I knew they were having a go at one of their own. Generally speaking a crowd pick on a player they grudgingly respect. That's what I used to do when I stood with the lads at Highbury or wherever I was watching and Arsenal were playing. You'd spot your man and go for him verbally. That's what they were doing to me. It's a different type of barracking when they go for players they don't rate.

'If you're having a stinker all you can really do is pray for the whistle, but if things work in your favour you can have a go back. It worked in that match for me; Sammy Nelson whipped down the line and crossed for me into the Derby goalmouth. The ball hit the bar and rebounded to about the 18-yard line where I was eagerly waiting - crack, back of the net. I took off, ran fifty yards back until I was in front of the Pop side stand - it became the Toyota stand - and lifted two fingers. There were a few prissy types who were insulted but I think the rest thought I had a case for two-fingered retaliation. It was a bit of fun, but again not everyone saw it as that, so another lecture on behaviour.

'Was it these kind of incidents that turned the decision makers at Arsenal against me?'

Well if it was Charlie, all we can do is thank them from the bottom of our hearts, because those of us who saw you play for Derby, loved you and we will never forget you.

COYR

[IslandExile]

16 minutes ago, Brailsford Ram said:

Mee, whose playing career hit the heights as a Derby County reserve player when he lived in Etwall.

Aside: I've mentioned this before but my Dad, a Forest fan and friend of Bertie Mee, used to taunt me with "one thing I've done that you haven't is go to watch Derby Reserves away".

On Charlie George..... He was one of my favourite ever Derby players.

Zak was - and always will be - my bestist favourite but I did love Charlie. Wonderful player.

[Guest]

1 hour ago, IslandExile said:

Aside: I've mentioned this before but my Dad, a Forest fan and friend of Bertie Mee, used to taunt me with "one thing I've done that you haven't is go to watch Derby Reserves away".

On Charlie George..... He was one of my favourite ever Derby players.

Zak was - and always will be - my bestist favourite but I did love Charlie. Wonderful player.

Bertie Mee's brother, Georgie Mee, was a left winger who played for the Rams from 1926-32. He was born in Bulwell but transferred from Blackpool and left to join Burnley. His write-up in the Who's Who of Derby County says:

'On a Friday evening in Sunderland in the late 1920s, Derby County players were following their eve-of-the-match tradition by attending a show. A pretty poor show it was turning out until a small dark haired man jumped on to the stage, grabbed the microphone and proceeded to astonish the audience with his professional patter and fine singing voice. The Rams players though were not surprised, however, because the man was their left-winger, 5ft 4ins Georgie Mee, inevitably known as 'Shortie', who had been a vocalist before turning to soccer. Mee was a model of consistency with Blackpool, ever-present in four consecutive seasons and joined Derby in a joint £3.75k with Jimmy Gill to give a late push towards promotion in 1925-6. He fell ill with typhoid fever in September 1928 and was out for five months before recovering fully. His brother Bertie was on Derby County's books and managed Arsenal to the League and FA Cup double in 1970-71. After World War Two, George ran a hotel in Blackpool until his retirement in 1965.'

It seems that Charlie may have had more approval for Georgie than he did for his brother if he ever met him. He sounded much more Charlie's cup of 'Rosey Lea.'

 

[Mucker1884]

This thread just keeps getting better and better.
Thanks to all involved.  A true work of art!  Bravo.  ??

 

(... and I can't wait to see how it ends! ?)

[AndyinLiverpool]

2 hours ago, Mucker1884 said:

This thread just keeps getting better and better.
Thanks to all involved.  A true work of art!  Bravo.  ??

 

(... and I can't wait to see how it ends! ?)

My guess is that Man City don't buy Rodney Marsh and so romp away with the title.

[Foreveram]

2 hours ago, Mucker1884 said:

This thread just keeps getting better and better.
Thanks to all involved.  A true work of art!  Bravo.  ??

 

(... and I can't wait to see how it ends! ?)

Spoiler alert, it ends so successfully they have a “ sequel “ three years later.?

[strawhillram]

6 hours ago, Mucker1884 said:

This thread just keeps getting better and better.
Thanks to all involved.  A true work of art!  Bravo.  ??

 

(... and I can't wait to see how it ends! ?)

I think it should be rerun again and again 

[strawhillram]

3 hours ago, Foreveram said:

Spoiler alert, it ends so successfully they have a “ sequel “ three years later.?

I wish you hadn’t told me, the suspense has now gone ?

[LeedsCityRam]

Matchday 31 – Saturday 11th March 1972 & a visit to White Hart Lane to face Spurs

Spurs started the day in 5th & just two points behind the Rams - a position mainly achieved off the back of a fantastic home record, losing only once in 16 League games (Leeds had been beaten there & Man City escaped with a point). By contrast, Derby’s away record at top 6 sides had not been good so this looked a tough assignment indeed. Despite the ominous signs, Derby recorded back to back clean sheets in North London & a late penalty from Alan Hinton gave them a valuable 2 points.

In the absence of TV highlights, here are the Mirror’s natty diagrams of the key moments with match report further below;

 

 

Programme of the day from North London;

 

Derby’s third consecutive League win kept them in 3rd place and opened up a 4 point gap back to Spurs. Elsewhere, Leeds beat Coventry 1-0 at Elland Road whilst Man City beat Everton 2-1 at Goodison to stay 5 points clear of Derby;

Man City goals; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xsLlMGc8710

 

[Guest]

For this potentially tricky away game, the Rams were forced to make their first team change since the end of December. Durban was out of contention with an injury. Terry Hennessey replaced him for his first start since the loss at Leeds just after Christmas.

Derby had not won at White Hart Lane since the 1933-34 season. This season Spurs had displayed quite formidable form at home, with only West Ham having taken two points away with them so far. So, the travelling fans were not expecting an easy ride. Chances were few and far between in a disappointing first half with Derby looking slightly more threatening than Bill Nicholson’s men. Spurs had created little in front of goal except for a frantic scramble in the six yards box, which the Rams managed to clear.

Hennessey was making an impressive return to the team. At his best the Welsh international captain was a magnificent player and it was unfortunate that his career at Derby was still being hampered by all too frequent injuries.

It remained scoreless at the break and although Martin Chivers went close with a couple of headers, Todd coped well with the powerful striker. Spurs only other threat came from a Martin Peters shot and the excellent McFarland had kept Alan Gilzean quiet. The two defences largely continued to dominate as the game wore on and it looked increasingly likely that neither side would break the deadlock. Derby seemed to have settled for a point when Kevin Hector was booked for time wasting five minutes from the end.

But seconds later, Tottenham found themselves in difficulty as they tried to clear the ball upfield after a Derby corner. Mike England attempted to pass the ball back to ‘keeper Pat Jennings but unfortunately for him Jennings had come too close and was unable to hold on to it. Hector pounced and Jennings had no alternative to pulling him down in the box. It was a clear penalty and although Jennings guessed the right way, he was unable to stop Hinton’s shot into the corner of the net despite a despairing dive. It was the penalty specialist’s 15th goal of the season and his eighth from the spot but this one was invaluable. It made for an extremely happy mood for the travelling fans aboard the Ramaway as we made our way home to Derby.

The two priceless points kept Derby in third place and very much in contention because although they trailed leaders Manchester City, who had won at Everton, by five points, they had two games in hand. Leeds won at Coventry to stay a point clear of Derby. Liverpool’s draw at Chelsea meant that they were two points further back in fourth place but had played a game more than the Rams.

Now we awaited our second FA Cup replay with Arsenal in just two days time. Was winning the double just too much to dream about?

Terry Hennessey’s season was badly disrupted by injury, which restricted his League appearances to 18 including one as a substitute. A superb player on his day, the Welsh international had played extremely well in pre-season and seemed certain to have a major part to play as the new campaign approached.

With Roy McFarland out of contention early on while recovering from a bad bout of flu, Hennessey’s place in the side was more or less assured anyway at that stage. Although he performed well in the first three games, two of which were won and the other drawn, McFarland returned as an automatic choice at centre half and once the manager had decided to add Durban to his line-up, Hennessey’s position in the side became less certain.

He had a run in the team during November and most of December playing alongside McFarland and Todd, occasionally as a defensive midfielder but his League appearances after the turn of the year were restricted to just three starts and one as a substitute later in the season.

[IslandExile]

Substitution (only one per side) brought to you by Curzon Garage.

[Crewton]

19 minutes ago, IslandExile said:

Substitution (only one per side) brought to you by Curzon Garage.

Not Brown's Foundry then? ?

[uttoxram75]

42 minutes ago, IslandExile said:

Substitution (only one per side) brought to you by Curzon Garage.

I'm intrigued as to where the "Special Excursion" was going to?

[Guest]

1 hour ago, uttoxram75 said:

I'm intrigued as to where the "Special Excursion" was going to?

Perhaps the club's chartered Ramaway train to upcoming away games at Stoke or Crystal Palace. I know I took the Ramaway to Palace. I'm not sure if one ran to Stoke because it was so near and British Rail often simply laid on extra service trains I think for Forest, Leicester and Stoke, where many also made the trip by car or bus. LeedsCityRam may have the full advert.

[LeedsCityRam]

1 minute ago, Brailsford Ram said:

Perhaps the club's chartered Ramaway train to upcoming away games at Stoke or Crystal Palace. I know I took the Ramaway to Palace. I'm not sure if one ran to Stoke because it was so near and British Rail often simply laid on extra service trains I think for Forest, Leicester and Stoke, where many also made the trip by car or bus. LeedsCityRam may have the full advert.

Good guess, it was indeed for Stoke on 25th March - stretching the concept of 'special excursion' to its fullest extent ?

[LeedsCityRam]

FA Cup 5th Round Second Replay – Monday 13th March 1972 & another attempt to separate Derby & Arsenal, this time in the neutral surroundings of Filbert Street, Leicester

This was the 4th time Derby had played Arsenal in the past few weeks & with a Quarter Final at Orient the prize, 40,000 turned up at Filbert Street (including a reported 20k Derby fans) to see who would finally prevail. Sadly, an early Ray Kennedy goal from a poor John McGovern back pass proved to be the difference.

Here’s McFarland & Robson attempting to clear from George Graham;

 

 

 

Programme of the day from Leicester;

 

Arsenal predictably beat Orient in the Sixth Round & went on to reach the FA Cup Final after edging past Stoke in the Semi Finals after a replay. For Derby, the wait for their first FA Cup Final appearance since 1946 went on….(and still does)

 

 

Edited March 13, 2022 by LeedsCityRam

[Guest]

Derby had not reached the quarterfinal stage of the competition since 1949-50 and if they were to get there this season, they would have had to do it the hard way. The two ties had been particularly grueling affairs and this second replay came just two days after a hard earned win on a difficult pitch at White Hart Lane, which was bound to have been taxing.

Durban, having missed the Spurs game, returned to the side in place of Hennessey, who was on the bench. Arsenal named the same side that had contested the first replay.

The kick-off was delayed by 10 minutes to allow supporters caught up in traffic congestion to get into the ground. Derby started brightly but the game was only four minutes old when McGovern attempted a back pass from all of 30 yards, which ricocheted off Todd into the path of Ray Kennedy who fired home past the advancing Colin Boulton.  It was a horrendous error by the midfielder who should have played a pass upfield to Hinton instead and before long it was obvious he was struggling to get over it.

Urged on by a following of over 20k fans at the Spion Kop end of the ground, Derby were unable to break down the Gunners defence on a hard playing surface. With 14 minutes remaining, McGovern’s miserable evening was complete when he picked up a nasty head injury in a collision with McFarland. The centre half then pushed forward in a last ditch attempt to force an equalizer with Hennessey coming on to bolster the central rearguard. It almost worked when McFarland put Hector clear but his low cross was scrambled away and soon after the same player ran through on goal only to head narrowly wide from McFarland’s cross. After that Arsenal held on grimly for their victory but for Derby it was back to League action and a home game against Leicester City five days later.

It seems that the young Nick Hornby had not travelled to the second replay for he did not mention the game in ‘Fever Pitch.’

In his autobiography, Roy McFarland said ‘John was distraught. We all were. We felt we played well enough to win that evening at Filbert Street. Although we were contenders for the League title, the FA Cup looked as if it might be our best bet for a trophy.

‘Durban made a rallying call as we sat around moping, cursing our misfortune. Even Clough was subdued and didn’t appear to know what to say but Durban, for some reason, seemed almost euphoric as he told us: “Don’t worry boys. Maybe this is a sign that we’ll go on and win the League.”

‘He meant that, it was a statement of intent, almost a prophecy, even though it didn’t ring true with me. Durban had surely lost the plot and I thought: “What the hell is he going on about?”

In his autobiography, John McGovern said ‘….the manager was scathing at the final whistle, shouting “McGovern you cost me a cup final and don’t you ever forget it.”

‘I could not have been more dejected. Not only had I given away the goal but finished the game with stitches in my head and was substituted. I felt I had let the whole team down and was miserable about what had happened. Such was Clough’s anger that, despite being restored to the side, he did not speak to me for about four weeks. I was in the team, yet never mentioned during team talks.

‘He did eventually start talking to me again, but from that moment on, before every cup match, League Cup, FA Cup or European Cup, the routine was always the same. Before I took to the field of play the manager would approach me with his little reminder.

“McGovern, you cost me a cup final once and don’t you ever forget it.”

‘I never did, although the lack of communications during that four-week period began to get to me to the point where my mum questioned my ultra-quiet behaviour. Telling her the story was a relief in itself, but little did I know that she rang Brian Clough personally to discuss the matter. She never mentioned it to me, and I only discovered what happened years later when I was in Brian’s house shortly before he died.

“Your mam gave me a bollocking once” he suddenly told me.

“She’s given me one or two myself, Brian” I joked.

“I mean she gave me a real big bollocking and not many people have done that” he insisted as he gave me the full story of what had happened.

‘My mum later confirmed that she had taken it out on Brian for the way he had treated me after the Arsenal game. I just laughed at the thought of one disciplinarian being soundly scolded by an even bigger one!’

Arsenal went on to beat Leyton Orient and Stoke City before meeting Leeds United at Wembley in the Centenary FA Cup Final, which they lost one-nil. Two days after the final, in Arsenal’s last game of the League season, they were to do Derby County proud, as were Leeds United.

[LeedsCityRam]

Matchday 32 – Saturday 18th March 1972 & back to league action with the visit of Leicester to the BBG

Leicester started the day in 15th spot and were making a good fist of keeping clear of the relegation scrap in their first season back at the top level. Derby had beaten them 2-0 at Filbert Street back in August though & showed their superiority again here with a comfortable 3-0 win – goals coming from O’Hare, Durban & Hector

 

 

 

Front page of the Ram focused on transfer fee controversy & calls from the PFA to abolish fees so players could walk away for free when their contract expired – predating the Bosman rule by 20 years;

 

Derby’s win meant they took advantage of Leeds’ FA Cup commitments to move into 2nd place. Meanwhile at Maine Road, new £200k signing Rodney Marsh was given his full debut by Man City in a 1-0 win over Chelsea – a result that kept City 5 points clear of Derby at the top (albeit having played two games more);

[Guest]

With Alan Hinton sidelined with a hamstring injury, Archie Gemmill moved to the left-wing berth with Terry Hennessey coming into midfield. The young Peter Shilton missed his second consecutive game through injury. The inexperienced Mark Wallington replaced him in goal. Both of course played for the Rams in the 1980s.

Derby started brightly and intense pressure on the Leicester was rewarded in the 17th minute when O’Hare, having latched onto a fine Durban pass, shrugged off Steve Whitworth and skillfully clipped the ball over Wallington to put the Rams ahead. The Rams from then on looked increasingly confident and it seemed only a matter of time before they would extend their lead but the Foxes, to their credit, held out until the interval.

Jim Walker replaced Hennessey in the 64th minute, allowing Gemmill to revert to his normal position in midfield. Two minutes later, Walker floated over a corner kick, allowing Durban to ghost in at the far post and head past Wallington to double the lead.

David Nish, another future Ram, played particularly well for Leicester at left-back and it seemed Derby would have to settle for two goals but with time running out Gemmill got his head to a Leicester throw-in. The ball fell to Hector near the halfway line and surged through the visitors’ defence, shrugging off a challenge from Graham Cross before scoring with a cross-shot into the far corner to make it 3-0. It was a magnificent effort from the ‘King’ who was approaching his best form at a crucial stage of the season.

This was Derby’s tenth consecutive League win at home. An upbeat Brian Clough said that his side must continue to fight hard if they were going to challenge for the title.

With Leeds in FA Cup action, the win lifted the Rams into second place behind Manchester City who had beaten Chelsea 1-0 at Maine Road. City’s lead was five points but Derby had two games in hand. Liverpool thrashed Newcastle 5-0 to remain in strong contention.

Graham Cross remains Leicester City’s record appearance holder with 599 games for the club between 1961 and 1975. He also holds the record for most games for England U23 team.

Early in his career, Harry Catterick tried to sign him for Everton. Then in 1968, at the beginning of Derby’s promotion season, the Ram’s tried to sign him.

“That was unbelievable,” Graham said. “I used to live in Groby on an incline in a cul-de-sac. We had this big glass door. Late one night, at about midnight, for some unknown reason I was awake and I saw a light come onto the drive. The doorbell went. I went down to answer it, opened the door and who was there? Brian Clough and his assistant Peter Taylor! Clough said: ‘I want to sign you for Derby'.

“Derby were still in the Second Division at the time. I was about 24 and I wasn’t very keen on dropping a division to be quite honest. Clough and Taylor had this great reputation but I told them I wasn’t sure about it and I’d have to wait and see. At the end of the week, in the Sunday People newspaper, Cloughy was saying: ‘I wouldn’t sign Crossy if he crawled to Derby’. So I retaliated and said that I wouldn’t sign for Clough if he was manager of Real Madrid! We had a bit of a slanging match in the paper.

“The next day he rang me up and said: ‘Come on, I want to sign you’ and I said: 'Okay'. We never talked terms. Money was never involved so I don’t know how much he was going to offer me. The fee was about £80,000 I think at the time.

“Leicester’s Chairman called me back to the ground on Monday morning at 12 o’clock to sort this out. I sat outside the office for about two hours like a lemon while the chairman and the managers discussed this. Eventually they came out and said that they couldn’t agree terms, even though they’d already agreed terms to start with.

Shortly after, Willie Carlin joined Derby instead.

“So, the move never happened. Thinking back, I should have gone. I should have started afresh. I’d never wanted to leave Leicester but I’d been there since I was 15, and I think I was being taken for granted. This meant I was never getting the best deals. In those days you had to negotiate your own contracts, not like today. Also, I think you get more respect from going somewhere else if you perform well, but I loved playing for Leicester. In the end I was there from the age of 15 until I was 34. That’s nearly 20 years."

Ironically, after Graham left Leicester in 1976, he was signed by two of the men who had been interested in signing him for Everton and Derby several years earlier. Clough’s assistant Peter Taylor signed him for Brighton & Hove Albion and the following year Harry Catterick signed him for Preston North End. Both managers then lost their jobs soon after. Despite this he was in the Third Division promotion-winning teams of both clubs in 1977 and 1978.

He also doubled as a successful all-rounder for Leicestershire County Cricket Club in the 1960s &1970s.

[angieram]

Oh for a return to the days of the exorbitant £200,000 transfer fee!